EXTREME Food Aversions While Pregnant – Was This You?

01.29.2013 // 85 comments

This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for a while, but I had to get out of the trenches before I felt safe enough to document it and ask about it.

With all 3 pregnancies, I’ve never really got to the point of puking when I felt sick, save a couple times that I think were more likely attributed to mild food poisoning. Now, please know how VERY grateful I am that that came to pass. I hate puking more than just about anything in this world. I will fight it with every ounce of will power I have in me.

Hate. It.

But with each pregnancy, the worst part for me has been the food aversions, and they seem to increase in intensity and the length of time they stick around each time I get pregnant. I’m not talking about being averse to most foods, and having to live off of toast and water for a day or two. I’m talking not being able to stomach the sight, let alone the taste, of ANYTHING, not even water sometimes.

This was the worst for me around weeks 10 and 11, though I still fight with it off and on now. The week of Christmas, I think I could have fit all the food I managed to get into my stomach on one dinner plate. I had to choke down water in small sips.

There was a point when I thought, “Do I have to go to the hospital for this?”

People were misinterpreting my being so sick with my having hyperemesis gravidarum – a condition that results from severe vomiting, leading to dehydration (what Kate Middleton has/had). I felt awful when they would assume that. “Surely I must be overreacting to this if people think I have it that bad,” I thought. Because I never puked.

Though, I can’t say I wouldn’t have, had I given my body something to throw up?

I searched and searched online for warning signs of “extreme” food aversions, but all I found were the typical anecdotal tales of being repulsed by certain foods, and having to eat nothing but mac & cheese for a week. Nothing really talked about any dangers of the worst version of it.

The good news is obviously this came to an end (at least the extreme version of it), and the baby and I are fine. I’m certainly not implying that what I dealt with was on the same, dangerous level as hyperemesis gravidarum, but I do think it was a pretty intense, awful thing to deal with.

I guess I’m just wondering if any of you went through something similar? How sick did you get? What did you do to cope?

Let’s make this a place for a discussion about this, and hopefully others struggling with it will be more successful in a Google search for insight in the future than I was.

Carolyn-I, too, fight throwing up with every fiber of my being. I also thought that anti-nausea meds were supposed to only be used by people who were actively throwing up all over the place (because I, too, always felt like I was THIS.CLOSE to vomiting, but I never actually did. I sometimes thought if I COULD throw up, perhaps I might feel a bit better? But alas, I’ll never know!) At 8 weeks I started taking Unisom and B6, and somewhere between weeks 10 and 12 I think I started Zofran. Somewhere in the middle of my pregnancy I was able to stop the Unisom and B6 (which was nice, because my toddler was napping less, and that Unisom makes you SLEEPY!) but I was on the Zofran up until the day I delivered The Zofran helped IMMENSELY, and while I was still very picky about which foods did and did not seem like they’d make me throw up, I was definitely able to eat more than popsicles. I honestly don’t know how women end up forgetting these awful pregnancy stories in order to have more kids! 😉ReplyCancel

Samantha W -Not overall aversion, but specific foods yes. With my second pregnancy, first was ectopic, it was pb for the entire pregnancy and almost a year after after. Literally the smell would make me gag. My third pregnancy it was scrambled eggs, he is five months old and just thinking/typing about it is making my mouth water like I am going to vomit.ReplyCancel

Mandey Ejiasi -I didn’t puke while pregnant but I had some horrible aversions that were so bad I couldn’t even think about it or I’d feel as if I were going to puke. The first was Subway. I couldn’t even DRIVE BY the Subway by my house without needing to pull over and like, stop myself mid-cold-puke-sweats and just psych myself out of not throwing up. The rest of my pregnancy I was like that with mexican food and garlic. Commercials with Mexican food? I’d have to turn away/turn off sound or I’d be in the bathroom just willing myself not to puke. Like you I’m one of those people who will avoid puking at all costs.ReplyCancel

Courtney Rangel -When I was pregnant with my second child, I couldn’t eat anything without feeling sick all the way into (maybe through?) the 2nd trimester. Nothing sounded good & when I would take a bite of something, I would feel nauseous though I would never actually throw up. It sucked! I hated it. It ruined my life for that period of time. The worst part was that my husband and I went to Boston during that time and I couldn’t even enjoy the awesome seafood that they have there! Or the hot dogs and ballpark food at Fenway! I still look back at that trip with yearning for crab cakes and clam chowdah…I don’t think that I ever found a rememdy for it and my nothing was wrong according to my doctor. It just eventually got better. Just keep on truckin : ).ReplyCancel

Melissa -I spent all 40 weeks throwing up but not because of food. However, with my first I could not stand the smell of eggs, my husband and I worked different shifts and what’s the first thing he made himself every morning when he got home from work? Omelets. Gag but with my 2nd pregnancy I ate eggs all the time. My only real aversion both times was to meat and I’m not a big meat eater anyway so it wasn’t a big deal.ReplyCancel

Andrea Chmelik -Ugh, I am sorry you had to go through it. I hate puking more than anything. I had HG with both pregnancies, this one worse than the first. Strong will won’t do (nor zofran, really) and even if you have eaten nothing, you still vomit acid. Funny enough, I never had a strong food aversions. It just didn’t matter what I ate. I was fine getting it in, but it would always come out, so I would basically eat depending on what it tasted like coming back. Toast – OK. Pasta with not much on it – OK. Anything with tomato sauce or vegetables – horrible. The one fact you do not want to know but I will share anyways – when you barf broccoli, the little florets get caught between your teeth. I don’t plan to eat broccoli till birth, just in case. (I am past the vomiting phase, or so I hope, the nausea will probably last until the end, like with my first). I think one thing I can relate to is the water aversion. I am pretty sure I am dehydrated most of the time – I can’t do water and hate soda and juices are nasty to vomit…usually a lot of crushed ice and some lemon in the water makes it somewhat bearable. I am really glad to hear that you got past it! Pregnancy is so HARD! Plus everything tastes funny. Even foods that look appealing end up tasting strange. Not sure what mother nature had in mind with this kind of crap…ReplyCancel

Alison -With me it was worse weeks 6-8 and I just wasn’t hungry at all. I could make a meal, serve it, but then the idea of eating it made me feel like I was going to puke.ReplyCancel

Crystal B -I had severe food aversions as well. Mine was mostly meat and anything I thought about actually having to chew and swallow. My gag reflex was awful. I would sometimes get through a meal and then throw it up because I thought about the physical act of having to eat it. I never had an aversion to water, but it did give me heartburn, along with most other things.ReplyCancel

With my first pregnancy, it was chicken. Any kind of chicken sent me almost passing out to the floor from the nausea. I still cannot stand the smell or sight of boiled chicken. FOUR YEARS LATER.

With Harrison, it was Mexican food. The thought of it had me swallowing chunks.

I’m like you – I was just nauseated the ENTIRE time. I can count on one hand how many times I actually puked but I think it was just sheer willpower because I loathe vomiting with every bone in my body. I would lay on the couch & breathe heavily & wish to die with tears rolling down my cheeks, but refusing to puke. (that being said, I’m like that with every illness. I’ve only had one vomiting illness my entire life & that was when I was 9. I’m just not a puker.)

In hindsight, I think I would have felt better if I’d just given in & vommed for 13 weeks instead of swallowing it back down.ReplyCancel

Jess Z. -With both of my pregnancies I had food aversions, but the second was worse in the beginning. I hate to puke and try to avoid it at all costs too, so that made it worse. If my husband made eggs, I would have to leave the house so I didn’t smell them. Don’t even get me started on chicken. I can still feel the gag reflex. I also had problems with too much iron from my prenatals, so I felt like my stomach was burning acid all day. I basically laid around willing myself not to puke and trying to sleep away the gross feeling while trying to sip water and chew on ginger tabs, gingersnaps or saltines for 6 weeks. At work and taking care of a 2-year-old. He watched a lot of movies then Not fun. Then it magically diappeared when I hit about 11-12 weeks.ReplyCancel

KyFireWife-I did not have FOOD aversions while pregnant, but I did spend maybe 3-4 weeks with a severe aversion to water. I drank only fruit juice, sweet tea, and Sprite and was seriously worried that I would become dehydrated.

Glad that’s over for you! Enjoy the rest of your pregnancy!ReplyCancel

Miranda Hahs-I am 15 weeks myself. My first 11-12 weeks were simliar to yours, I only puked one time, but had some major boughts of the “sweaty upper lip- hyperventialting,-just keep breathing or you will puke any second” moments. I felt bad complainnig because I wasn’t puking and thought I should just be thankful for that. I did have some major food aversions too. I hated the smell of bread, and the thought of eating it was like someone offering to make me a cockroach sandwich: like oh gawd, no way was that getting close to me. I threw away a whole package of pita bread I had just bought because I felt like I could smell it from across the room. I had a moment before entering my son’s school for a parent teacher meeting where I had the “will power” moment in the parking lot after smelling their cafeteria breakfast. I was rocking in my car out front, praying that I didn’t puke in the parking lot or worse once in the meeting and fully smelling the cafeteria. I felt like you said..like I “willed” it.My doctor finally prescirbed an anti nausea Rx, even though I wasn’t puking, so maybe that would help others in need. Just because you aren’t puking, tell your doctor, and they can still give you something to make that horrible feeling go away. Mine prescribed Zofrain (sp?). I was able to be much more comfortable and eat more once I took it. I also changed my pre natal vitamin to a chewable.ReplyCancel

emily-Ugh. with my first pregnancy I simply could not stomach the thought of any food. I had morning sickness for 18 weeks, but extreme aversion for probably 3-4 weeks? I’d throw up after brushing my teeth but for the rest of the day I was in puke purgatory. The in between is a miserable, horrible place to be. There were foods that I’d manage to eat here and there and a day later the mere thought of those foods would make me want to lay on a cold tile floor. Of course my doctor was never concerned (nothing concerns him unless the baby is falling out), but I did get some anti nausea meds so I could enjoy a couple of special events, and boy did it work! So glad to have those days behind me. Hope you’re feeling better now!ReplyCancel

emilie dolphin -Im 16 weeks and still battle mild food aversion. However 1st tri was rough. I could barely eat anything and wanted nothing. I did vomit at least once a week but that only lasted about 3 weeks and at that point i was eating a tad more. My worst battle even now is water. I hate it. The thought of it could make me gag and i have to force myself to drink it and usually use crystal light to manage to get more fluid down. Anyone else hate water?ReplyCancel

Jill-Emilie, it helps me to have it REALLY SUPER cold with LOTS of ice. Even like a water slushy- water poured over crushed ice from Sonic. I seem to still be averse to hot or lukewarm drinks (one of the many reasons I can’t do coffee). I find I can get liquids down better if I keep them in my insulated thermos on ice.ReplyCancel

Rachel -Yes. All food all the time, and I am 17 weeks and losing weight. (!) I didn’t have this level of repulsion with my last pregnancy, either. My kicker is that if I don’t eat, I puke, but if I do eat, I can barely get it down (I can manage a few bites here and there). I don’t think it will end until I give birth, though. It’s kind of miserable! I really miss food and wanting food. (I did go through a phase of wanting tomatoes only, but that ended a few days after it started, and I can usually eat ice cream pretty reliably so something is going in…) good luck. I’m glad it’s over for you. ReplyCancel

Courtney -With both pregnancies I had morning sickness, more like all day nausea. Smells made me more sick than actual eating. Leftover pizza in the fridge hit me like a ton of bricks… All I wanted at that point was mac & cheese or buttered toast or string cheese – none of which helps the constipation, but I won’t even get into that… With my second, I immediately got a prescription for Zofran and it helped tons, but thinking about foods, even ones I normally loved, didn’t sound good. Then one day everything sounded so yummy!ReplyCancel

Autumn Canter-With both my pregnancies I went through a phase where even the thought of Italian pasta sauce and meatballs was enough to make me vomit/feel like vomiting. I was a daily puker with my first pregnancy up to around 16 weeks. No vomit at all with my second. But both pregnancies had intense cravings of things it was safe to eat. Hot sauce on everything, for one. With my son I had unhealthy cravings: french fries, pasta with ketchup on it, brownies. With my daughter I could not get enough of steamed spinach, fresh pineapple, baked potatoes, and hard boiled eggs with Tabasco sauce on them. I hate the beginning of pregnancies. I can deal with all the rest of it: including the medicated labors. Just-not-the-beginning. ugh, makes me never want a third. I think, ‘well what season would I like to feel like total shit and not enjoy the beautiful outdoors?’ReplyCancel

Julie Cole-I’ve had six kids, and I’d say with 2 of them I had maybe 3 weeks of feeling seedy or kind of hung over. Honestly, I don’t know how women do it. If I was sick the way some of you describe…..I think I would have an only child.ReplyCancel

Jill-And here I was wondering how you did it. LOL! Seriously though, I’m glad we agreed on only 3 because I am DONE after this. DONE.ReplyCancel

Katie80-I lucked out with my pregnancy and never got aversions so bad that I thought I was going to throw up (and I thanked my lucky stars every day for this.)
I couldn’t stand the smell of chicken cooking during month 3 though. Sometimes I’d have to leave the apartment when my hubby would make dinner.ReplyCancel

Jenni -Oh the nausea! From weeks 7 to 12 I was miserable with both pregnancies but waaaaay worse with my second. I lost 10 lbs (the one “benefit”, being skinnier than I’d been since high school) and pretty much the only thing I could tolerate was Ensure, which I consumed only so my baby was getting something from me!ReplyCancel

Jennifer -With my first pregnancy, I was the girl who wanted to eat, but coudn’t keep anything down. I lost a lot of weight in my first trimester in my first pregnancy. I tried to go without meds, but when you end up laying on the bathroom floor at work because you literally can’t get up without puking, you give in to the meds. I remember taking them the first time and about a half hour later, sitting in my living room crying out of pure relief. It was the first time in weeks that I didn’t feel sick.
With this pregnancy (I’m about 5 days ahead of you) I haven’t been nearly as sick. However, the nausea has been bad, and there have been a few aversions. But the weird thing is that the aversions change day to day. One day I can’t stand the sight or smell of bacon, the next I’m fine to eat it. It’s weird. I wish there were better explinations of this stage…the ever changing aversions and nausea make it so hard sometimes! Here’s to feeling better in the 2nd trimester!ReplyCancel

Katie @ TheNerdyKatie-Looking back on it, I had the same thing Kate did, I just didn’t know there was a name for it. But I literally had it the whole nine months & lived on zofran & a couple IV’s thrown in. If I even thought of Mexican food I would have to run to the bathroom, which is really hard when your SO is Mexican lol. The smell of people re-heating seafood at work would make run to the bathroom as well, but I’m thinking it would do that normally lol. Glad you’re feeling better!ReplyCancel

Abigail -I am 9 weeks into my first pregnancy and the food aversions are so discouraging. I love to cook, and usually spend my entire weekend in the kitchen. Now, any type of meat makes me dry heave. Nothing sounds good–except grapefruit and pizza! If I have gained weight in this pregnancy it is due to carb consumption–not baby growth. Thank you for writing on this, it is so nice to know others have had this experience.ReplyCancel

Katie Pouchot Chapin -I was nauseous (and I guess food averse?) for my whole pregnancy, but only puked once at about 7 weeks, and then at 14 weeks I didn’t keep anything down for about 36 hours and they put me on anti-nausea drugs that FINALLY took enough of the nausea away that I could eat and function. I was the same as you Jill – couldn’t eat really anything but bread and french fries, couldn’t even LOOK at animal protein most days, only drank water in tiny sips, or a bit of juice or sweet tea. When my friends asked what it felt like, I told them it was like the moment before you puke from drinking too much, all day, every day. Evidently, it’s unusual for things to get worse after the first tri like mine did, so I’m glad you’re mostly past it!ReplyCancel

Jessica @ Stay at Home-ista-I had HG with all 3 pregnancies, the worst was with my 2 daughters, actually throwing up every. single. day. It was the worst, and I agree with the above poster, it’s all about how bad it will be on the way up. Melted cheese, not good, I thought I would choke. I did find that the more protein and fat I had the better it was, so my initial plan of crackers and juice was the worst, milk was much better.

As far as aversions, I couldn’t take the smell, look, or taste of poultry, pepper, some oils, and truffles. After pregnancy everything went away except that I still can’t stand pepper or truffle. Even now, then smell of truffle oil from across a restaurant makes me want to throw up.ReplyCancel

Brittany -I never felt like eating through my entire pregnancy. Nothing ever sounded good. Except turtles chocolates. Luckily, I didn’t actually get sick so I was able to make myself eat. It was not fun to never want to eat!ReplyCancel

Michelle Guardiola -Food aversions, yes nothing sounds good, even the thought of food would make me sick. I am to that point. I have been for several weeks and have been terribly worried the baby isn’t getting what he/she needs. The doctor assured me it is. I did get diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum. I thought I was beginning to get in the clear until last night when it started again, and not even water would stay down. So every hour last night I would take a sip of water and then roll back over praying it stays down. You aren’t alone, and I hope you’re feeling better. I keep counting down the days hoping that one morning I just wake up and I’m “cured.”ReplyCancel

Danielle Hunt -The older I got, with each pregnancy, the worse it got. I once say my purse on my lap to clean it out, and hurled right into it. :(. I ended up having to go to the ER for fluids and anti nausea meds (they let IV in- went back for same 2 days later). It can seriously affect your health and baby’s health. ReplyCancel

Willow Matteson -Poor thing My only aversions have been to very specific things; ketchup, onion, and Earls cheese puffs this time around. There have been times of extreme nausea where the thought of food had me run to the bathroom. I’ve been very lucky this time around!ReplyCancel

Regina W -Sounds a lot like what I had with both my pregnancies. With my first, I lived on steak and milk and pretty much nothing else. I felt like throwing up constantly but only actually threw up about once a week. With my second, same thing, but I lived on pizza and peanut butter and honey sandwiches and only actually threw up once or twice. I couldn’t do anything with food and other random things would make me more sick (like heat, kissing my husband, washing dishes). I could barely function. It’s awful to the point that we don’t think we’re going to have any more kids because it’s just too hard on the family to have me pregnant.

I recently talked with a friend who gets hyperemeisis gravidum and with her 3rd pregnancy, they got it “under control” so that she wasn’t throwing up. She said it was just as miserable, though, because she felt sick all the time and could still barely eat food–she described it exactly like what I experienced with both my pregnancies. After that, I felt a bit justified with being as miserable as I was and having my fear of pregnancy now.ReplyCancel

Lisa Marden -I had hypermesis with my current pregnancy combined with extreme food aversions. I had to go in to the ER, toddler in tow, to be rehydrated with IV fluids because what little went in (I was down to small sips of room temperature water only at one point) came violently back up. I went completely vegetarian, what little I could stomach, from weeks 9-24ish. It. Was. Terrible. The smell of water boiling made me dry heave. I still can’t handle a lot of foods or smells (35w4d!), but it’s better than it was. Eat what you can, when you can. Hydrate. Try to get a good prenatal vitamin that you can take twice a day that separates the iron supplement into the evening pill. And try not to throttle people who tell you twenty times a day “it’s all worth it in the end right?” (Answer: Yes. But shut up.)ReplyCancel

Erin Neffke -I had very similar symptoms with both pregnancies. I was extremely nauseous and fatigued until about 5 months in. I had to quit my jobs both times. I’m also very adverse to puking and luckily didn’t really have that problem. Maybe the will to not puke was really strong in both of us. ReplyCancel

April -Oh man, I cannot imagine feeling averse to most foods. One was bad enough. My only food aversion in two pregnancies with the chicken aversion I had through most of my first. I couldn’t stand the sight, smell, or THOUGHT of chicken. Frozen, canned, cooked… didn’t matter. My husband tried to hide chicken in enchiladas once and after I finished gagging (I, too, will myself to not vomit because it is the worst thing ever) I told him no jury with mothers on it would convict me if I killed him for doing that. 😛 I hope this doesn’t last your entire pregnancy!ReplyCancel

Ginessa Cline Pierson -Yes! I had the same. exact. thing. and it’s because of feeling like this that I won’t have any more children. I can’t go through that again. Like you said, worse with each pregnancy and peaked around 10, 11, 12 weeks. I also couldn’t stand the sight of food and forget about the smell of it. And I, just like you, will do ANYTHING not to throw up so I never did. I just always felt like I was going to.
With both of my pregnancies I lost 15 lbs in the first trimester but my doctors never seemed worried about it. Although, I often fantasized that they would so that they would give me something, anything to make me feel better.
I had an aversion to ALL food. When I was pregnant with my second child, my first child was two and even pouring him a bowl of Cheerios was brutal. One thing I found was if I got a pintos and cheese from Taco Bell (bad, I know) I could eat a good portion of that, although it would typically take me about three hours to finish it. During the second and third trimesters I could choke down food for the most part but I still had aversions to certain things. Especially meat.
The only “good” thing about feeling this way is I was always below my pre-pregnacy weight once I gave birth and even though I was exsausted and emotional, as most new moms are, I really cherished the feeling of feeling good. I assume it might be similar to that high and appreciation for life people who have survived some kind of horrible illness or tradgedy feel.ReplyCancel

Julie -I had HG with food aversions. It started at 5 weeks and continued until delivery. I averaged vomitting 10x to 15x per day/night. It is terrible and something that people do not understand unless they have felt it. I was hospitalized 4 times, and ended up taking Thorazine (oral) for nausea with a Zofran pump (a needle in my abdomen pumping constant medication). And, can I just say that if you have never felt this way… Please, please never ever tell a pregnant woman to eat a cracker! I came very close to clocking so many people, including ER docs!. I think I would have if I could have held my head up! Whether you throw up or not, the feeling is terrible. My advice… close your eyes and pray that it goes fast!ReplyCancel

Amy H -I’m at 24 weeks with #2 and THIS was my first trimester. I didn’t throw up either, but the thought of ANY food some days made me feel sick all day. I lived on french fries and tater tots for an entire week once bc it was the only thing that sounded tolerable. I gagged if I smelled coffee (and I LOVE coffee!) Anything hot sounded disgusting and even cold things sounded horrible sometimes. One day I was all about Italian ice, the next day, I wanted to throw them all away. I feel for you. I’ve declared “I am NEVER doing this again” re: pregnancy bc I still can’t shake the memory of how sick I felt. Glad you’re feeling better. You are not alone ReplyCancel

Jenelle W.-I, too, fight throwing up until I practically aspirate it! And was nauseous every single day for two pregnancies so far (tell me again why I’m letting my husband slowly talk me in to another baby! Can I ask for a surrogate just cuz I don’t feel good?) I found that I could generally eat something if I just didn’t think about it – hard to do, I know. But I’d ask my husband to just make dinner – don’t talk to me about it – just get calories on our plates please. Then I would just force myself to mindlessly shovel stuff into my mouth – without looking at it – while playing a game or listening to my 3-year-old talk incessantly. Yes, usually it came up despite my best efforts. But once-in-awhile I’d get a few bites to stay down as long as I succeeded in never thinking about food. (My husband still thinks I’m nuts, but at least he supports my crazy!) And I never could get prenatal vitamins to stay down, but if I swallowed whole Flintstone’s vitamins, I could usually will those to stay down – better than nothing!ReplyCancel

Jenn -Oh, thank you for this post- it helps to know I’m not alone. I’m 8 1/2 weeks and broke down crying to my husband Monday because I just want to eat a well-rounded meal without feeling lousy. Nausea, food aversions, smell aversions, you name it. I’ve given up on packing lunches for work, because whatever sounds good at 8 a.m. sounds like torture by lunch. Instead, I’ve stocked my file cabinet with easy mac, crackers, cereal, applesauce, etc., and I eat whatever is least offensive to me at the given moment. Last night, I found “Preggie Pops” — organic losenges for nausea– at the store. I’ll let you know if they help!ReplyCancel

Erin Munk -I just saw this post, and can totally identify. I’m 14 weeks pregnant, and it doesn’t matter what the food is, it might as well be turd on a plate. There is NOTHING that EVER sounds appetizing. Just looking at food makes me want to crawl under a dark rock for several months. I thought my body was supposed to be so smart and crave what it needs. I am currently living off of Jolly Ranchers and La Croix soda water. I think the bubbles really help settle my stomach. I have gained 3 lbs total, and I have absolutely no idea how. This is my second pregnancy and I had some food aversion last time, but nothing like this. I’m pregnant, and I want to eat 2-3 slices of pizza and get to not feel bad about it damnit!ReplyCancel

Tamar -I’m 11 weeks and I have severe food aversion. I can’t eat anything…I cant drink anything…everything looks horrible. I haven’t eaten in about a week…and haven’t drank anything in that same amount of time. I am so frustrated…I’m so tired…I talked to my doctor today and they offered no relief. My partner is the same, he doesn’t understand. I’m just at my breaking point. And let’s not talk about the horrible taste in my mouth constantly. If I knew pregnancy was going to be this horrible, I would have chosen differently. I’m sorry, but I am so frustrated with all of this. I’m tired of hearing, “oh it will get better” or “just think about the end result”…whatever.ReplyCancel

kaylee -I completely agree with Tamar. I’m eight weeks pregnant and have been this way for the past month. This is the MOST crucial thing I have ever experienced. I dont feel pregnant. I feel like I have the stomach virus 24/7. I get so frustrated with this I just cry sometimes! I feel like throwing up will make me feel better and sometimes I can, but when I can’t is it okay to make myself throw up? I just feel like it would make me feel better. This is interfering with my work life and my everyday schedules. All I want to do is lay in bed and throw up all day. Please help. I feel helpless. My doctors prescribed me zofran which isn’t worth a dime, and my partner just doesn’t understand how awful I feel all the time. Someone please tell me how to get over this. Dont get me wrong, I am so happy to create a little one but this is no where near exciting or a great experience. Its making me miserable and I really just wish I could enjoy creating this little baby, but its getting the best of me.ReplyCancel

Kylie -Thank you for writing this post. I have had a food aversion to everything then I have a random craving about once a day and I can only eat that food for like thirty min and then it goes back on the aversion list. I just sit around waiting for something to sound good and feeling terrible all the while. Like you said I just hear about specific aversions on all the other websites. It’s nice to know that I’m not alone in feeling nauseous at every smell. It took me two hours to eat an omelet the other day because nothing ended up sounding good and I felt I needed to eat something. It was the worst two hours so far. haha. I never thought eating would be hard.ReplyCancel

ashley -I can just cry reading these. To know I am not alone is so comforting to me. One of my biggest fears is throwing up and I too will do everything in my power to not do it! I am just about 11 weeks pregnant and am having the worst food aversion. I had it bad with my first but not this bad. I am miserable and just trying to find something to eat to keep me going through my days. I really hope it doesnt last too much longer!ReplyCancel

kaela -This is my second pregnancy and I am having extreme food aversions as well. I had never felt like this with my first. I literally can not even think about making dinner for my family, just thinking about the different foods to put together for dinner makes me nauseous. This morning, I tried to eat a banana, took one bite and could not eat any more. I am seven weeks and am hoping that this will pass in the coming few weeks! It is comforting to hear others experiencing the same kind of thing, so thank you all for your input!ReplyCancel

Allison -Oh yes, extreme food aversions and lots of throwing up and nausea. I wish I knew what my body wanted to eat. I’m so hungry but even saltines and water sometimes can’t stay down. And I wish I wanted to eat but every kind of food sounds disgusting. And my poor husband is so confused with how I’m feeling because I wasn’t like this pre-pregnancy.
Any good suggestions, ladies, for foods to eat while experiencing food aversions to everything and all day morning sickness on top of that??? I’m miserable for any suggestions!!!ReplyCancel

Erin Berlin -Just stumbled across this. I am barely eating. I am 8the weeks now and have lost 10lbs in the last week and a half. I can barely eat. I can’t look at the food. I can’t smell it. I cannot even think about what is in my fridge. I made SO freeze all meat with the exception of breakfast sausage which seems to be the only thing I can manage to eat for dinner. Then I feel miserable afterward. I constantly feel like I am going to pass out. Sigh, few more weeks.ReplyCancel

Chandra Marie Dragulin-This is really freaking me out. I’m only at two months, extremely food averse and on the verge of throwing up, and I’m down 10lbs. I can tell I’m dehydrated even though I’m able to drink water, might be that it’s winter stealing all the moisture from me… anyway, seeing all these posts about how it could continue past 12wks is disturbing, and the number of posts makes me so irritated that I didn’t know this might happen!! I’m glad people are sharing their experience, I’m just unhappy that I’m in this scary situation and no one warned me it’s such a common part of pregnancy. I have an anxiety/panic disorder, and it’s really ramped up when I can’t eat properly, so this is a double-whammy for me, having to fight my anxiety feelings and feeling so fainty, fragile and depressed. I haven’t been able to take my prenatals, despite purchasing a brand known for being gentle (Rainbowlite). Here and there I get a little bit of food in, but it doesn’t change the constant nausea or the frequent feelings of needing to eat again, which trigger more nausea. Hiccups and reflux are also at play, it’s just a nightmare. I’m not doing well at all with any meat, I’m surviving on resers frozen bean and cheese burritos (one at a time) and the occasional bowl of oatmeal. Smells are killing me, and thoughts of gross things, the sight of anything gross, it doesn’t have to be food, just gags me. As a stylist, I have been able to work here and there, but I definitely notice my work quality is suffering because of the light-headedness, not being able to make good conversation, and needing to sit down a lot. I think I can handle about one color client before honestly needing to go home and lay-down. I just keep thinking :” I am never doing this again. One child is enough for me.” I have been offered Zofran by a recently pregnant friend, but have heard that if you’re sensitive to medication (I am, magnesium makes me sleepy!) it will knock you out, and that it’s most commonly prescribed to terminally ill people. Needless to say I find that scary so I haven’t tried it.ReplyCancel

Melissa -I’m a barber so I get you sister! I told a lot of my clients early because the flu season is upon us and I saw their reaction to my facial expressions and brain in space, and I would rather they know instead of thinking I’m sick. I have been lucky with my anxiety, it’s a family disorder that I have struggled with pretty heavily for the last 4 years especially, but I just focus on the idea that I have one job and it’s to take care of myself because it means taking care of the little bean in me. It for some reason puts things in perspective for me. I also found that taking my prenatal at night when I was exhausted and about to pass out worked for me. I slept through any gross feelings I would have had I think? Anyways, hang in there and you aren’t alone! Maybe schedule a little extra time for each client right now? I have done that too, just takes the weight off of hurrying for the next one and when I have stayed on my normal cutting time I get a little sit break! <3ReplyCancel

Raymah Mcbriar -I am having extreme aversions and am in my 17th week. I noticed most commentors are in their first trimester or somewhere before 13 weeks with these aversions! When will this stop? ReplyCancel

Brittany Holmes -Just found this and so thankful I’m not the only one. I’m coming up on 11 weeks and I think I’m driving everyone I know completely insane because I hate almost ALL food! Or, I could be okay with a food one minute, and completely despise it the next. Even safe foods like toast and crackers make me want to run…I haven’t puked much so it’s not necessarily morning sickness, and pre-pregnancy there were only three foods I couldn’t tolerate, I was Miss Appetite! I feel like a completely different person…and a big baby at that because the less I eat the worse I feel! ReplyCancel

Kate Lorraine -Thank you for this! The only meal I can stomach (both literally and figuratively) is breakfast. And I often throw up before I eat and sometimes again afterwards. The thought of lunch or dinner just absolutely repulses me. Finding something to feed my family each night is a huge struggle because I don’t want anything! And when I do eat, I have terrible heartburn. I’m nauseous almost all the time, and throwing up late at night as well as in the morning. Also waking in the night just to feel nauseous. This is week 10… I’m hoping it gets better soon, I typically like food, and I wanted more babies too!ReplyCancel

Tamara Johnston Blackburn -So thankful to find this post. I’m experiencing the same thing. I’m in week 14 and I’ve had extreme food aversion since about week 8. I absolutely cannot go to the grocery store. So much food, the sight and smell, is completely overwhelming. I am like you and have never puked once this pregnancy but if I ever got close, it was during the few attempts at the grocery store. Eggs and one flavor of a protein bar is mostly what I eat lately. The foods I can stand change from day to day. I’ve only gained 2 lbs thus far. I do feel it’s getting a bit better but it’s a real struggle. People assume since I’m not puking I have it easy. No way! I wish. ReplyCancel

Rima -Thanks for this post! I’m 11 weeks right now and the aversions are so terrible. I don’t have aversions to everything (I didn’t know there were women out there with aversions to water! That’s terrible!!) but the list is so long there isn’t a whole lot that I can eat. Still, I know I’m lucky; the only times I’ve vomited is when I fail to control a violent gag reaction. I’m actually really concerned that the aversions won’t go away once baby comes. I feel like maybe they’re morphing into psychological aversions. I used to love food. LOVE it. Now I really can’t conceive of liking the smell of food ever again. Anybody out there still have aversions (residual aversions?) once the baby’s born?ReplyCancel

Melissa -This is exactly what I’m dealing with! I’m coming up on 12 weeks and I do vomit (not a lot but when I have tried anything with flavor or that “sticks to your gut”, oatmeal etc), but it’s that I try to think of anything that is appetizing and nothing at all even sounds appealing. I’ve discovered avacados are okay once I start eating/force myself to eat them and they are more or less flavorless, but even crackers, unsalted plain crackers, leave a taste in my mouth that just grosses me out. Everything. Smells make it even more difficult. My doctor weighed me and since my six week mark I have lost 10 lbs. She said that weightloss in the first trimester is relatively common, but everything needs to be focused on gaining 1 lb a week after that to be on schedule. She advised that I go to the grocery store hungry and just go at it.

I love food. I am not a thin girl, I’m on the thick side and I eat! So this whole process has been a sensation of kind of losing myself, I used to go out after work and eat and maybe have a drink with coworkers or friends, it’s not even a desirable situation for me at this point. Crossing my fingers that the next two weeks things get better. : /ReplyCancel

Jennifer Collins -I am at the begining of week nine and my food aversion is beyond horrible. I force myself to drink water and most the time I am forcing myself to eat something…ANYTHING! It is so hard because besides being repulsed by most foods, I just have an over full feeling all the time. I am overweight and typically love to cook and even more to eat. Not only that, to add stress to the matter my DH and I are fighing about it all the time. He wants me to cook all our family meals and I have a hard time even being In the same room as food. I literally feel ill just thinking about food. Thanks for making me feel a little bit more normal. ReplyCancel

Kayla Andrews -This is me right now, and I’m on week 10. I’m starving at this moment, but everything I think about is making my stomach turn. I just tried eating a bowl of noodles, and I puked after the first few bites. Nothing’s working, and it’s gotten to the point now where I don’t care about what’s not safe to eat during pregnancy because now I’m just searching for ANY food to eat at all.
The serious aversions I’m having at this time is chicken and pizza, but everything else is stuff that I’m not too keen on eating either.ReplyCancel

Alli White -Please know how GRATEFUL I am for this post. Over a year after you wrote it I have come across it and finally feel some sort of [mental] relief for the first time. And not in a “misery loves company” sort of way, just happy to see that this is… survivable? Your descriptions are my experience to a T, even down to the water aversions. I have no solutions to share, but I just wanted to say thank you and hang in there to all of the moms-to-be who have stumbled across this in the same desperate google search as I have. ReplyCancel

Amrutha -I m right now close to 9 weeks and I am already having nausea all round the clock and throw up like 3 times everyday. All I could keep down is Ensure nutrition drink and some ginger.
I can’t stand the smell of ANY food and I ve been starving. The only smartest move at the moment seems to be ensure. My doc prescribed me anti nausea pills but I do not take them just to monitor the most important symptom in the pregnancy.

Last time I got pregnant it ended up in a miscarriage at 10 weeks with fading symptoms and I am just monitoring the symptoms this time to see how well I progress.ReplyCancel

billie -I hope things worked out, and you are still going strong!! ReplyCancel

Myrian Ortez -I am 13 weeks pregnant and I am dealing with this. I have lost 10lbs. I don’t get any cravings at all, only food aversion. I force myself to drink water. And if I force myself to eat food I will puke it. I can only eat one time a day & it must be a small meal. I’m concerned I will lose more weight. Hopefully this stage passes quickly!!ReplyCancel

Anastacia Crowe -I’m 16 weeks pregnant with my 3rd little one and I have never experienced food aversion like this in my life. I am not only repulsed by ANYTHING edible, I have absolutely no hunger pains or physical signs of hunger. I have lost 20 lbs and I’m at my wits end…will this stop? If so, when??ReplyCancel

billie -I am currently almost to week 8, it seems so much longer, but every time I type out the week we are on, I think, “geeze it’s still so early.” I am IN the food aversions stage. It has definitely gotten worse the last week or two. I went from only being able to eat comfort food like mac n cheese, cheeseburgers, mashed potatoes, but now I cannot stand the thought of them…just typing them out is making me feel sick. It’s like a constant ‘hung over bad’ feeling, but nothing fixes it, especially not greasy food! ugh. I can stand the thought of fruit, especially watermelon. Today seems to bring more nausea, but it feels like I haven’t eaten at all. I try to drink more water thinking maybe my body is thirsty and not hungry, but sometimes the water just makes it worse. I am headed to the store, but am afraid when I get there nothing will even sound good and I will have wasted a trip. I will definitely buy watermelon though. I had to start searching for others like this, bc it’s not necessarily the “morning sickness”, I’ve been pretty good with out nausea I think, unless I don’t eat, which I can’t often bc the food grosses me out, and then I feel sick. It’s like a double edged sword. A friend of mine suggested cheese and mustard sandwiches. AT first I thought, GROSS. Then I opened the fridge, saw my bagels, and thought, “toasted with cheddar cheese and mustard.” It was awesome. Anyway, thank you for writing this, I thought I was going crazy.ReplyCancel

Jill-When I was pregnant the first time, I LOVED baked sweet potatoes with butter and worcestershire sauce. Everyone around me thought it was so gross, but it was heaven back then! You eat what you gotta eat. I hope you feel better soon!ReplyCancel

Sara Wilson-I am pregnant with my third baby, I am high risk with hypertension. I got used to eating rare meats with my second pregnancy, and now I can’t stand the taste or smell. Not even a nibble. It all taste like too fleshy. Now that I am in my third trimester, even the processed meats and foods are tasting bad. cheese taste spoiled, lunch meat taste rotten, and food altogether just has a bad taste and makes me feel nauseous after eating it. I never got morning sickness throughout this pregnancy and I am worried about it. I don’t want to eat yet my appetite is still strong. What do I do? any thoughts on whats going on. Like you said i look it up and it brings up sites like pregnant food aversions, but what happens when the food aversions are more serious of an issue?ReplyCancel

Jill-I wish I had advice for you! After my last 2 pregnancies, when the food aversions were progressively worse, my taste for food is just generally messed up now. I know that is not what you want to hear. Just eat what you can when you can.ReplyCancel

Sarah Howell -This is my 3rd pregnancy and I’ve had aversion to food with each pregnancy all worse then the last. I am 19 weeks today and most meets are out! Beef is somewhat ok and fish but I won’t eat a lot of it. All of my babies in utero wanted fruit. First strawberries and second and now third blueberries. All 3 I could not drink milk or eat much dairy at all. Other foods were simply unapeeling. When it comes to making dinner I start sweating bullets. I know I don’t have the energy for it but my stomach just turns and turns. Like you I do not bring anything up unless I’m extremely I’ll which some could say is good but sometimes after the hrs of feeling so awful I wish I could. At almost half way through this pregnancy now I thought this would have eased up but nope. I’ve managed to gain 2.5lbs. That’s it. Dr isn’t worked so I won’t either but I sure miss being able to enjoy food ReplyCancel

Kerri Fitzroy -I’m having some aversions at 19 weeks with my 3rd. I’m thankful, that it’s not as bad as what I read below (holy beans ladies you’ve got it rough!)… Mostly it’s feeling full halfway into a meal and nauseous immediately afterward if I try to push it. I have discovered if my protein is low, it makes me feel worse. So ladies,if you’re finding those little white lines in your nails it could be the nausea is from protein deficiency. Sometimes low blood sugar and being dehydrated is also a cause. … When I was pregnant with #2, I would make an insanely thick protein shake (4-5 scoops, so it would be 1-2x the proteinI needed in a day) and I would leave it on the desk, take a sip, walk away, come back an hour later. If you only finish half of it, you’re still getting enough to keep you from feeling super weak, fatigued and nauseous… It’s just not really enough to gain weight on.ReplyCancel

Kate Kinsella -I am 17 weeks and up until now I have had pretty bad ‘all day sickness’ but now I am just not interested in food everything tastes the same! I fear I’m not eating enough nutritious food for my baby! I even had to get chewable vitamins! I have always loved food but now I can’t stand it! ReplyCancel

Wilhelmina -I am on 11 weeks now and I really didn’t have any food aversion except I get sick of almost any smell that is stinky — and garlic will make me sick!

In my 6 -8 weeks were horrible..I was nauseaus and puking everything I eat for almost a week.. I usually puke 3-5 times a day..I dont stop puking until my stomach is empty of anything..it was horrible that sometimes I choked cuz I ran out of breath, and your toes and fingers are curling up because you have enough…and the irony is I want to eat…foods are constantly playing in my mind..making me so hungry but I can’t accept anything except water… thanks God I am over with it but still have the repulsive act against garlic..it makes me want to puke straight away..I used to love it but.now…it makes me sick..

It’s horrible, I just want to be normal again..can eat, walk outside and can cook again so that I can enjoy eating what I like again..ReplyCancel

Carolina Gomez -I am 12 weeks and 4 days and since week 11 I can’t stand the smell of food let alone I can’t eat anything especially if I drink milk I just vomit right away I am just afraid that I don’t gain the enough weight for my baby I hope this is temporary and I get to eat normally againReplyCancel

Debbie -I’m currently in my 26th week and I’m still suffering from severe food aversions. I quit using Facebook because the food pics people posted made me sick. I can’t eat protein at all. No eggs, beans, meat, etc without my stomach turning. My doctor put me on probiotics. She thinks my intestinal flora may be out of whack. It hasn’t made a noticeable difference yet. I’m also on zofran and promethazine for the nausea. Only the promethazine seems to help although it makes me tired. B6 and unisom did nothing for the nausea. It has been a miserable 26 weeks and I told my husband not to expect any more kids from me.ReplyCancel

Abie Tagal Flores -Food aversions make me puke! the smell of chinese food esp when its got hoisin sauce…eewk! I could only eat oatmeal, and dried fruits…i supplement with Ensure milk just to make sure that i get atleast some nutrients that im sure i would not throw up… im planning to drink gatorade to make up for loss fluids.ReplyCancel

Paige Liller -Omg me too! This pregnancy I have horrible food aversions. One minute I’ll want a certain food and by the time I cook it, I’ll totally want to puke just because. I know I had aversions with my first and this is my third but they were never this bad. ReplyCancel

Mercedes Rodriguez -I’m only 5 weeks and4 days and I have had the worst aversions to everything edible I can’t even get water down because it comes right back up and I try to swallow food similar to taking cough syrup, like it gets to the back of my mouth and instantly comes back out, if someone finds a way to get over that seriously let me know lolReplyCancel

Jessi Powers Spiteri -I’m so happy you write this post. I’m 7 weeks pregnant with my second and I’m nauseous all day every day, but with no vomitting, and I can’t stand even the thought of any food. All I can do is slowly nibble crackers and sip water, or sip on the occasional coke. It’s the only thing that even somewhat settles mt stomach for a little bit. My first pregnancy was a breeze, I didn’t experience anything at all like this!ReplyCancel

Liag Aveunalliv -I am 12 weeks now,and started hating food since week 7.couldnt eat anything that’s cooked.The smell makes me sick.I only live with,bread,certain fruits and milk right now..Just a thought of a food in my head makes me sick and even seeing pictures and food commercials on TV triggers my morning sickness.I have to wear mask at work everyday,especially lunch time,that’s the time I will start smelling onions,garlic.It makes me cry sometimes.Can’t wait to be able to eat good food again for my baby.Hope this will end soon..ReplyCancel

Eva Holmes -I had extreme food aversion the first month with my first Son. Now I’m pregnant again, I think about 2 months, and it is the worst I’ve ever had so far. I can’t eat anything! I don’t like water either. I have extreme nausea but no puking! My stomach feels weird all day every day. I only feel better when I’m laying flat on my back which is weird. I wish there was something we could do to help Ourselves eat and drink.ReplyCancel

Meghan Bradley -Feel so much better knowing im not the only one going through this my fiance says im just being picky and should eat what’s at the house but most days I cant fathom eating anything at all.ReplyCancel

Hillary Langlois -The most frustrating thing for me is feeling RAVENOUSLY hungry, and at the same time completely repulsed by food in general. Occasionally there will a SINGLE food that my body will accept, but even WATER gags me! And I swear my taste buds don’t work right either. I remember how bacon used to taste, dang it! Is this the case for anyone else???ReplyCancel

Alysha Mourning -I’ve been having the same problems. I ALWAYS have this nasty, empty feeling in my stomach, but I can’t stand the thought of any food. Being concerned about the nutrients I’m getting to the baby, I bought a pack of chocolate Boost meal replacement drinks. They have vanilla too. I was able to drink it, and they have been a lifesaver. I try to limit myself to one in the morning. It helps me gain enough strength, and get rid of that nasty feeling in my stomach long enough to scavenge something I can eat at my house. Then I try to eat small, frequent snacks throughout the day so I don’t get too far gone and weak. It also helps to drink one before grocery shopping, so I don’t feel as sick at the store and end up leaving there with nothing. I still struggle, but the Boost drinks have helped tremendously. Good luck everyone.ReplyCancel

Kevin Welsh -I wish I was only dealing with food aversions…smell…sight…touch…sometimes just thought…it all makes me puke. My food aversions are so bad I cant manage to enter the kitchen without throwing up. My super canine powered sense of smell hates the smell of my own body but also doesnt agree with showering because the smell of unscented soap and shampoo I bought makes me puke. When my older kids or husband hug me, I am blessed with wave after wave of nausea which leads to…you got it…puking. I had to buy bottled water (I am so against bottled water you dont even understand the environmental guilt I am enduring at this moment) because the look of water in a glass makes me puke…but guess what…the smell of the water bottle also makes me puke. I feel for all of you.ReplyCancel